Ryan Tubridy calls McDonald’s “McFilth” live on air

RTÉ presenter Ryan Tubridy had to backtrack after calling McDonald’s ‘McFilth’ on his show live on RTÉ Radio 1 this morning.

r Tubridy made the comment about the fast-food chain while speaking about singer Mariah Carey, who he said “had the trademark for the phrase ‘All I want for Christmas is you.'” .

Mr Tubridy argued that the celebratory text was a “collection of words” and no one could own “all of it”, adding: “If you say, for example, I love it, then I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s McFilth, so I know what that is’, or McDonald’s. Sorry, I’m jokingly calling it that, I love a Big Mac.”

Mr Tubridy immediately backtracked on his remark, claiming he has nicknames for various similar restaurants and that it was “joking”.

“I’m saying it because I feel guilty if I ever have it… Okay, ah, it’s like Eddie Rockets, Sir Edward. I have nicknames for all of these things. Oh no, okay, okay, oh dear, okay,” he said.

“Well, that’s it, isn’t it? Okay, Mariah Carey lost this case, I’ll probably lose a case too. As I said, it’s a joke. Alright, alright, alright, alright; This story isn’t as interesting as I hoped, it’s my fault,” he added.

In a statement issued to Independent.ie, a spokesman for RTÉ said: “Listeners will of course understand that this comment was a hoax – as Ryan has already stated that he loves a Big Mac.”

Independent.ie has reached out to McDonald’s for comment.

According to the latest figures from Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) released last week, the Ryan Tubridy Show has 344,000 daily listeners, but it’s down 25,000 since August.